SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Authorities in Utah are questioning the accuracy of statements made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents following a traffic stop involving a local driver, according to the Unified Police Department (UPD) of Great Salt Lake.
On January 26, just after 8 a.m., ICE agents requested the department’s help with a traffic stop in Millcreek, a 10-mile drive southeast of Salt Lake City, said UPD.
The UPD revealed that when the officers arrived at the intersection, they could not find the agents. Dispatch later directed them to a site about half a mile south in Murray.
Upon arrival, officers found ICE agents with a driver who was already in handcuffs. According to the UPD, the agents at the site told officers the driver had “swerved toward them with his vehicle.”
The officers tried to clarify the charges with the ICE agents, but they did not provide “a clear response,” according to the UPD. Officers found the situation concerning and advised that the driver’s handcuffs be removed.
The UPD reported the driver, “who appeared emotional,” told officers that he yelled and honked at the agents, but did not swerve his car toward them.
Despite a lack of direct evidence, ICE agents requested police issue a citation to the driver. Since the officers did not see the incident, UPD officers said the “agents would need to sign as complainants and testify in court.” Two of the three agents refused to give a written statement.
Rather than filing charges, ICE agents suggested a citation for “failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.” According to the UPD news release, officers issued the citation but later reviewed surveillance footage from nearby businesses.
According to the UPD, officers determined the footage “did not show the driver swerving toward the ICE agents.” As a result, police dismissed the citation.
Law enforcement officials contacted ICE about “inaccuracies and inconsistencies” in the agents’ statements, claimed the UPD.
An ICE spokesperson responded, later released to McClatchy News, that the agency “stresses integrity and ethical behavior, and the vast majority of ICE employees perform their duties with professionalism and honor.”
“ICE takes very seriously all allegations of employee misconduct,” the spokesperson said, adding “Any allegations of misconduct are investigated by the appropriate agencies, and any employee who has committed provable misconduct, will be held accountable.”
Following public outcry and the viral spread of video footage, Millcreek Mayor Jeff Silvestrini emailed ICE officials, condemning the agents’ actions.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the mayor said the agents had “trampled the rights” of a U.S. citizen and the mayor called for an internal investigation.
Silvestrini further stated that video evidence proved the accusations made by federal officers were “demonstrably false.”
